The present invention relates to control systems and methods, and more particularly to control systems and methods for an air treatment system.
Air treatment systems are available with a wide variety of control systems. A number of air treatment systems include manual control systems that permit the user to manually control a variety of aspects of operation of the system, such as motor speed and time of operation. This permits the user to manually increase the motor speed in response to environmental conditions, for example, when cigarette smoke enters the room. Some of the more complex control systems provide automation of select operation, including motor speed and time of operation. For example, some control systems have the ability to adjust the motor speed in response to smoke and particulate concentrations in the air. This eliminates the need for the user to continually adjust the air treatment system to match environmental conditions.
Over time, conventional filters become increasingly filled with contaminants filtered from the air. The accumulation of contaminants increasingly affects performance of the air treatment system. At some point, the filter reaches a condition where it should be replaced. To assist a user in determining the appropriate time for filter replacement, some air treatment systems have the ability to track usage and calculate an approximation of when the filter should be replaced. Typically, these types of systems provide a visual indication, such as an illuminated LED, when it is time to change the filter. Although an improvement over systems without the ability to track filter life, conventional control systems of this type oversimplify the factors that contribute to filter life, and accordingly may not provide a particularly accurate approximation of filter life.
Although existing control system help to automate operation of the air treatment system, there remains a need for a more efficient and effective control system that is capable of taking into consideration a wide variety environmental conditions. This need also extends to control systems with more accurate and effective ways of tracking filter life.